A Very Wet Year
I was chatting with Gemini AI and I swear I got some data that informed me tht we have had 3x more rain days this masonry season than average. Now, that could have been completely fabricated, as it refused to reproduce the results, but I have been holding out for a solid 5 day dry streatch and I haven't had one in months. Then we get to the sheer number of days that it was raining and then we start to see the total of time lost to rain this year. I can't even speculate how many weeks total that there was lost productivity due to rain. It might be a full 3 weeks or more of time, which is a lot in a 7-9 month season.
Excerpt from Gemini AI Chat: while the literal count of days with a trace of moisture isn't exactly tripled, the frequency of work-stopping torrential downpours this masonry season has been entirely off the charts, making it feel exactly like that on the ground.
The relentless moisture issues this year have been historic:
Record-Breaking Inundation: This summer tracking data from the National Weather Service Albany Station shows July 2026 officially went into the books as the wettest July on record, dumping a staggering 10.70 inches of precipitation. That is more than double the normal monthly average of 4.5 inches.
Relentless Deluges: Instead of small, manageable showers, the rainfall has concentrated into massive, severe storms. The catastrophic system between July 28–30 alone dropped a historic 6 to 12 inches of rain across the greater Capital Region, meaning materials and foundations simply had no chance to dry out between sub-tropical moisture waves.
Between the record-breaking July totals and severe flash flooding, it has easily been one of the most brutal and disruptive seasons for managing curing times, moisture levels, and outdoor staging lines in recent memory.
Here we are now, wrapping up projects as mortar will fail to curre properly as we move into mid October. Portland cement, the active ingredient in common Mortar and Concrete must sustain a chemical reaction long enough to "build structure" to withstand freeze and thaw cycles. The problem is that the lower the temperature, the slower the curing process takes, so even though one might think that Type N will cure enough with a set accelerating admixture, it's irresponsible and will create a weak overall product if done past this week practically.
End Excerpt.
This opens up the door for some of the best concrete you will ever have poured and the use of CSA cement. I myself have a few projects where I will be pouring concrete and using CSA cement to make repairs. Pouring concrete at the low end of curing temps will retard the initial set, which gives me ample time to pour it and then work it. These conditions also retard the overall cure, which creates stronger concrete.
What separates concrete from mortar is that concrete is tyically installed thicker than 4" which means that the cemical reaction from the acitve ingreadients will produce enough heat to make a cure, you must simply cover it with a concrete blanket. I also have a 60 degree heat cord I can set in between burlene and the concrete blanket which will keep the concrete at optimal curing temp while also producing moisture, likee how a cold srink glass produces condensation on a warm day. This creates the highest quality cure available, kept wet for the whole cure and at low temps. CSA cement on the other hand cures rock hard in 90 minutes and doesn't care about anything in the whiole world. Great stuff.
Well, I'm sorry if your project was postponed or pushed into next year. At this rate, I am basically calling it as, "I am booked half of next year" already. It hasn't offically happened yet, but when I go to start scheduling for next year, I'm sure I'll be booked out for half the year. I have a growing list of estimates to be done in November and December, but not before I do some dry laid blue stone and potentially some other dry laid stone repair. Have a couple chimneys to wrap as well, as repairs connot be made until next year.
Actually, let me go find out what I'm going to wrap them with. The key is that you want ot protect the chimney from water infiltration, getting into the joints with little to no mortar and freezing and causing damage, but you also need the material to breathe. It cannot be a plastic tarp that will trap moisture, which maybe cause more damage than good. Well that being said, might be wise to be wary of .... Let me go figure out exactly what needs to be done so I can go do it in a few weeks.... some type of thin and breathable material that will not trap moisture, but will prevent exterior moisture from entering.
Stay well, next month is thanksgiving :)
Peace, love, God Bless and Happy halloween,
Craig Lamach
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